“Just Got Bullied”: Growing Up With Italian Boy Cousins Shaped Caitlin Clark’s Spirit

Caitlin Clark embodies what it means to be a hard worker. Aside from her seemingly innate, relentless work ethic, Clark wouldn’t be the player she is today without her family.

Clark’s mother is of Italian heritage, and she has a lot of extended family. The two-time All-Star didn’t have a lot of girl cousins around her age, and though she has two brothers, she has no sisters, so she consistently found herself surrounded by boys, and to no surprise, gained an interest in what they enjoyed.

Athletics run in the Clark family. Her paternal grandfather coached football at the private school she attended, her father played NCAA basketball and baseball, her older brother Blake played football at Iowa State University, and her younger brother Colin was a multisport athlete in high school. Two uncles also played college sports, as did one female cousin, Audrey Faber.

Competitive basketball games would break out at a moment’s notice when the Clark siblings were growing up. Those intense matchups would reach even greater heights when their cousins entered the fray. They didn’t take it easy on Caitlin just because she was a girl. If anything, they were even more competitive.

“My mom would always be like, ‘You got to hold your own,'” Clark said on the Bird’s Eye View podcast. “I was that annoying little cousin who always wanted to hang out with the older cousins and the boys. I kind of just got bullied by them.”

All Clark wanted to do was fit in, but it wasn’t that simple. Regardless, she didn’t let those struggles wound her spirit. Instead, being around boys as much as she was had an even greater impact on her competitive drive, and it’s evident in her tone.

“People always ask [my brothers] if they can beat me one-on-one, and they always say, ‘Yes.’ But they know deep down that’s not true,” Clark revealed.

Family dynamics will never change, no matter what lengths a sibling goes to. Clark is arguably the most transcendent player in WNBA history, yet her brothers don’t view her like the general public does. To them, she’s still the same sister they grew up playing with in the front yard.

All of the banter and exchange of competitive energy comes from a place of love. When they aren’t going head-to-head, Clark’s brothers and cousins view her like a precious gem.

“They’re now my biggest fans. They come to all my games and they’re honestly my best friends,” Clark said.

Caitlin certainly flipped the script regarding who’s the best in the family, but there’s no animosity from her family. The support she receives is a testament to why she is as great a player as she is.